She had to know that he wasn't awake. She quietly hooted, not loud enough to reach the ears of the other boys in the dorm, but enough to disturb Harry – if he was awake.
No reaction.
Yes! thought Hedwig as she silently flapped down to the floor near Harry's trunk. With her beak, she slowly pulled a silvery slip of fabric from the trunk. Harry's Invisibility Cloak.
With the Cloak flapping behind her, Hedwig soared around Gryffindor Tower, slowly circling the castle until she found an open window on the fifth floor. As she approached the window she peered inside. Her keen eyes glimpsed a flash of movement. Mrs. Norris! It looked like Hedwig was going to need to be invisible sooner than she expected.
She waited until there was no sign of Filch or his cat then glided through the window landing on the tiled floor. Her talons made faint clicking sounds as she moved, but there was nothing she could do about that. She couldn't fly with the cloak covering her and she couldn't risk being seen yet. Walking was the only way to get there. Slowly and carefully, Hedwig padded down the corridor she had landed in, searching for the place. The statue of Boris the Bewildered confusedly looking at the left glove on his right hand told her that she was getting near.
"What's that, my sweet?" Hedwig froze as Filch turned into the corridor from an adjoining hallway, followed by his mangy cat. Mrs. Norris' gaze was fixed at a point about a foot directly above Hedwig's head.
She can smell me, Hedwig thought, but she can't see me.
"There's no one there, pretty one," Filch growled, "unless it's Potter under his cloak!" He purposely strode forward and waved his arm through the air where Mrs. Norris' stare was focused. His dirty boots were inches away from Hedwig.
She looked up at the tall man in front of her his nostrils flared as he sniffed the air, and she could see long wiry hairs sticking out.
Ugh, she shuddered. The Human nose is a disgusting place...
Filch turned and walked back down the hallway from where he came from. "I don't know what you smelt, my sweet, but it is not there any more. Probably a mouse," he added. Mrs. Norris continued to stare at the spot above Hedwig’s head for a moment before speeding off after her master.
As the sound of Filch’s footfalls died away Hedwig gradually unfroze. When the castle was silent again she continued to walk down the corridor.
Finally she came to the empty classroom they had chosen earlier. Head butting the unlocked door open she entered the room and pulled Harry’s Cloak off. She looked around.
Stacked against the walls were upside-down desks and broken chairs. At the back of the classroom there was a large dusty blackboard that was half falling off the wall. Underneath, perched on the grubby carpet was a tiny, grey, ball of feathers. It hooted as Hedwig entered.
I’ve missed you.
Hedwig ruffled her feathers. You saw me this morning, did you not? She hesitated than began to walk forward. The miniscule grey owl flew to meet her in the middle of the room. They paused in front of each other for a moment...
Suddenly the grey owl jumped forward and started preening Hedwig's feathers affectionately.
Pigwidgeon! Hedwig exclaimed, we can't, not here, not yet!
Pig stared dejectedly up at the larger owl.
Why not? He asked, You are ashamed of me, aren't you. That's why we do this – all this secrecy and espionage – because you are ashamed of my size.
Seeing him so depressed tore at Hedwig's heart. He was usually so happy and excitable.
No, she hooted softly, You know the humans mustn't find out about us. Harry would get jealous, you know what he is like. And the other owls, they don't understand.
Pigwidgeon took a step backwards. Other owls? You mean the school owls? Of course they don't understand. They all think they are one flap from getting into your feathers.
The school owls? Hedwig scoffed. They're all in love with themselves. And besides, it is you that I want. I don't care about how big you are. I ... you are my wingmate.
If owls could grin, that would have been Pigwidgeon's expression. An owly smile lit up his whole tiny body.
And you mine, he said formally, suppressing an urge to leap into the air and fly around the classroom squawking the national anthem backwards.
Without warning Hedwig jumped up and flew around the room in a frenzied dance. Stunned, Pigwidgeon stared at the snowy owl's antics until she settled again in front of him.
What was that about?
An impish gleam that he had never seen before shone in Hedwig's eyes as she answered. I've seen you do that and I thought I'd give it a try...
Half an hour later Hedwig and Pigwidgeon could be seen wheeling through the chilly February breeze together over the school grounds. They settled on a branch from a gnarled old tree on the outskirts of the Forbidden Forest.
Hedwig tossed the Invisibility Cloak over both their heads. Dawn was approaching. Under the security of invisibility, Pigwidgeon again approached Hedwig to smooth her feathers. She didn't stop him. There they perched until the sun rose over the top of the castle.
Hedwig looked down at Pigwidgeon as the first rays of dawn reached them. Inside the school, students were waking up, running around, caught in all the fuss of Valentine's Day. Here they were in peace.
Eventually their secret would come out. One day Harry and the others would discover them. But they were strong. They would survive it.
In the meantime, Hedwig was satisfied to sit and enjoy the serenity of early morning with the owl she loved.
"Athelas."
Harry pushed past the Fat Lady's portrait and stepped into the Griffindor Common Room. Lately he had made the habit of returning to the common room late, and as he expected, most people had made their way up to their dorms. Only two remained.
They were sitting together entwined near the fireplace – a red haired boy and a girl with long brown bushy hair – so absorbed in each other that they didn’t notice the dark figure slinking past them and up the stairs to the boys' dorms.
"Twitterpatted..." he mumbled as he quickly undressed and got into bed. After a few minutes he heard the sound the sound of the dormitory door opening and someone preparing for bed.
"You awake, Harry?" asked Ron.
Harry squeezed his eyes shut, pretending to be asleep for what seemed hours until he heard his friend's light snoring. Once he was sure that he was the only one in the dorm awake, he rolled over and opened the curtains of his four-poster bed enough so he could look out the window. As he did, something shiny caught his eye. It was his Invisibility Cloak.
It was draped over his trunk – definitely not how he had left it a few nights ago. A closer inspection revealed two small grey feathers and a larger white one.
Harry blinked. He was tired.
This was a mystery that could wait till morning.
A/N - Who wants to guess what the password means??? Please bring some review lovin' ;)
A/N - Just to clarify, because a few people have asked, the password mentioned above is refering to the word Athelas, which Harry says at the beginning of the epilogue-y part. It is the password to open the Fat Lady's portrait and is a little allusion to another... thing. Does anyone know what that is??? ;)